ALEX CARMICHAEL WRIGHT AND WINGATE: COURT HEARS OF INCIDENT INVOLVING 14-YEAR-OLD INTECEPTED FACEBOOK MESSAGE

A clever mother intercepted a Facebook message sent to her 14-year-old daughter from a man almost 20 years old, a court was told. The mother responded pretending to be her daughter, which led to a brief exchange of messages with the unsuspecting Alex Carmichael Wright. Durham Crown Court heard Wright inquired if she would be out that evening. The girl replied she thought she would be, but then said she had to stop communicating as she was at school. Prosecutor Jonathan Walker stated, “Wright then made an offer of £40 if she would perform oral sex on him, adding: ‘That’s a bargain.’” The girl’s mother responded, “I might not come that cheap,” before contacting police to report the messages. This led to Wright’s arrest, who initially denied any wrongdoing, claiming he did not know the girl and had no contact with her. However, by the time of the initial hearing on October 6, the now 21-year-old, formerly of North Road West, Wingate, had pleaded guilty to a single charge of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity. The court was told Wright has a significant criminal history over the past three years. Since the incident on July 1 last year, he has been sentenced at Teesside Crown Court to 36 months in a young offenders’ institution for two counts of affray and possession of an offensive weapon. Wright appeared at the latest sentencing via video link from HMP Doncaster. Judge James Adkin described the case as “an unusual case of its kind,” noting that the girl, who was the target of the messages and inappropriate request, may have been unaware of them thanks to her mother’s quick action. “Unknown to him, the mother took over the chain of messages, and, should I say, with some panache.” The judge imposed a consecutive sentence extending Wright’s custody by three months beyond his release date in March next year. Additionally, Wright was ordered to register as a sex offender for seven years.